Tag Archives: interviews

About two weeks ago, I was able to watch a free screening of American Revolutionary: The Evolution of Grace Lee Boggs, and I was introduced to a woman whom I’d heard about thanks to social media, but has never really understood the impact of her social work. During that same week, I was able to talk to the director of the film, also named Grace Lee.

In the interview below, Lee and I discuss the film’s newest accolade—a Peabody Award—and how Lee came to find what she didn’t she didn’t know she was looking for Boggs. We also discussed the hot issue at the time (and technically still is a hot issue despite it not being featured in the news), the unrest in Baltimore triggered over the police-involved death of Freddie Gray.

If you had read my past Moniqueblog recaps of Pan Am (which are still available on the Internet Archive), then you might remember how much I loved Kal Parekh’s co-pilot character Sanjeev, or “The ‘Jeev,” as I called him.

I was able to speak with him back then about his role on the show, and now I’m happy to say I was able to speak with him many years later about his role in a new film, The Spectacular Jihad of Taz Rahim.

The film, based on real experiences, tells the story of a Muslim informant hired by the New York Police Department’s intelligence unit to provide information (bated or otherwise) on terrorist activity. Parekh plays Det. Nick Patel, whose intent on meeting his goals could prove to be detrimental.

I’ve been covering the news surrounding The Ridiculous Six for about a week now, and I’m very excited to say that I was able to speak directly to one of the actors who left the film, Loren Anthony.

In this interview, Anthony details what the general feeling was on that particular day of filming and his personal feelings when it came to the absurdly offensive treatment of his people and culture, as reflected in the leaked script. I know there are those out there that have wanted to know how much the actors knew about the film before signing on; Anthony covered this and much more in our phone call, which you’ll read below. Continue reading Exclusive Interview: Loren Anthony Discusses “Ridiculous Six”→

Everly starring Salma Hayek and Hiroyuki Watanabe, is now out on DVD and Blu-ray, and the film features Hayek as a woman who is trapped in a building full of people who want to kill her. Her only goal is to get save her daughter and somehow get out alive, even though the odds are stacked against her.

Like so many fans of RuPaul’s Drag Race and of drag queens in general, I was extremely sad to learn about Sahara Davenport’s death in 2012. When I was still running Moniqueblog.net, I had the chance to speak with Davenport about her then-latest single, “Go Off.” After getting off the phone with her, I’d hoped I’d be able to catch up with her again in the future. Here’s my interview with Davenport.

Tonight’s black-ish will welcome guest star Mara Marini to the party. You might remember her from her guest starring role on Parks and Recreation, and the bubbly actress has brought even more laughs and fun to the already-fun black-ish set.

I was excited to speak with Marini about her time in acting, working with some comedy greats and what’s next for her in her very busy life.

Ana Maria in Novela Land could be thought of as Lost in Austen meets the telenovela. A woman becomes a part of her favorite telenovela and realizes more about herself in the process. Edy Ganem plays the lead roles of the telenovela fan, Ana Maria, and the show’s star character Ariana Tomosa, and I was excited to be able to learn more about the roles from her. In an email interview, she explains more about the film, her opinions on the rise of the telenovela in American pop culture, and her favorite telenovela.

SXSW is underway, and one of the many musical acts you can see at the festival is R&B/pop singer Darnaa. I was happy to have a chance to catch up with her before her SXSW performance via email, and in the interview, you’ll learn more about how her musical family, what the song “Surv!val” means to her, and the special message she has for her fans.

COLOR has covered Fresh Off the Boat extensively when it comes to the episodes and characters, including an interview with Kid Eddie himself, Hudson Yang. But now we’re going behind the scenes with Sanjay Shah, one of the screenwriters for Fresh Off the Boat.